Oil-rectifying device



Feb. 17, 1931. H. G. KAMRATH oIL RECTIFYING DEVICE l Filed Aug. 13, 1927 y gva/vento@ Patented Feb. 17, 1931 d UNITED jsTATEs PATENT OFFICE ITER-BERT G. 'KAMRATIT or PLINT, MICHIGAN, AssIGNoR To A C SPARK PLUG CoM-V PANY, or PLINT, MICHIGAN, A COMPANY or MICHIGAN OIL-RECTITYING DEVICE .Application led August 13, 1927. Serial N'o. 212,697.

This invention relates to an oil rectifying device for use with an internal combustion engine and more particularly to an engine of an automotive vehicle. Y It is an object of this invention to provide au oil rectifying device which will distill the volatile diluents from the crankcase oil as it is drawn through Vand heated in the rectiier and which is connected with the engine `intake so thatthe diluents will be 'drawn off into the current passing into the intake manifold. It is a further object of the invention to provide such a rectifying device which is operated*entirelybysuction from the engine 41g; air intake and which will cause the oil always to pass slowly into the rectiiier where it is heated and the diluents drawn off. It is a further object of this invention to provide such a device which will operate discontins uously so as lto distill and purify one charge of oil, 4allow it to pass back into the crank- `case and then draw in and purify another charge. This hasthe advantage of removing the.oil as a charge is purified so that it will not remain and mix with the incoming oil Vladen with impurities.

' Other objects'of the invention will appear in the course of the following description,

taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing and appended claims.

In the drawing:

" Figure 1 isa side elevation of a part of a conventional internal combustion engine equipped with my improved oil rectifying device.

Figure2 is an enlarged vertical longitudinal section of the oil rectifier and its Connections.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the metering disk. p n

Referring to the drawing, I have illus trated in Figure 1 a conventional internal combustion engine in which the numeral 10 indicates the riser leading from the carbu- 'retor 11 to the intake manifold 12. A tube 14 is connected with the inlet 10 and with the oil rectifier, indicated generally at 16, -mounted at the side of the engine adjacent thereto.V 1

56- As shown in Figure 2, the rectifier comnormally held' in its seat over the openin 34 by the coil spring 36. When the suc ion within `the chamber 26 reaches a certain point, the pressure of the outside air overcomes, the

tension of the spring 36 and forces the ball 32 inward, thus allowing air to pass through openings 34 and 38 into the chamber 26.

The float 40 is movable vertically lwithin the casing and is guided in its vertical movement by the coil spring 42. The float is provided with a central aperture for reception of the valve rod 30, this opening being large enough to permit relative vertical movement of the two elements, this movement being limited by the washers or collars 44 on the valve rod. Y

An inlet valve is provided in the lower part of the casing, on the right hand side as illustrated in Figure 2. Connected with the casing is the elbow joint 50 in the lower end of which is threaded the plug 52 provided with an aperture 54 over which the ball 56 Hts. This construction permits the passage of a iiuid through the opening 54 to but not from the casing. An apertured fitting 58 is threaded over the elbow joint 50 and fits over the plug 52, thus leaving a cylindrical space 60 in which the polygonal metering disk 62 liits snugly and is vertically movable. The

disk 62 is provided on its upper sidewith grooves 64 leading to its Center. The fitting 58 is connected with the pipe 66 which eX tends into the engine Crankcase and below the surface of the oil. By the construction described, oil passing from the crankcase up through the tube 66 strikes against the lower side of the disk 62 and lifts it up against the lower side of the plug 52, passing between the polygonal edge of the disk and the cylindrical wall of the space 60, through the grooves 64 and up through thel opening` 54.

On the opposite side of the casing is the oil outlet. rllhis comprises a member 68 fixed in an aperture in the casing and provided with an opening 70 above which the valve plate or gate 72 is pivoted to open or close the opening 70. An elbow joint 76 is fixed to the casing over the member 68 and is connected to a pipe 78 extending within the engine crankcase but above the level of the oil therein. The plate 72 is provided with a small aperture 74 for a purpose described in detail below.

In the bottom of the casing 18 is the heating device I have illustrated this as a coiled tube 8O having ends 82 extending through apertures in the side of the casing. The ends may be connected in any desired manner with the exhaust pipe of the engine so that a portion of the hot exhaust gases. may be by-passed through the tube 80. The exact method of heating the oil is immaterial as it may be desirable to provide an electrically heated coil instead of the tube heated from the exhaust.

Fixed in the top of the casing is the tube 84. The device functions very well without the opening 84, it being advisable in such Case to make the opening 74 slightly larger. The opening through this tube is preferably the same size as or smaller than the opening 74 in the plate 72 and the size of the openings 84 and/or 74 is such that their combined capacity is equal to or less than the capacity of the opening 28.

The operation of the device will now be described. VVhen the engine is started, the float and valve 30 being in position to leave the port 28 open, a region of pressure lower than atmospheric is created within the intake manifold 12 and riser 10 and this region extends through the tube 14, chamber 26, and opening` 28intothe casing 18. Asthe pressure within the intake manifold may be as much as 16 to 18 inches of mercury less than atmospheric pressure, it is apparent that oil will be drawn up from the crankcase through the pipe 66 and into the casing. The metering disk 62 insures that this flow will be slow, as described in detail above. As the oil rises in the casing and door 72 remains closed, due to the low pressure within the casing, and air passes in through the hole 74 and bubbles up through the oil. TWhen the float is lifted high enough to strike against the upper washer 44 the valve rod 30 is lifted till it iits in the opening 28. The air continues to enter the casing through the openings 84 and/or 74 and as the pressure within the casing approaches atmospheric, the door 72 opens and allows the oil to flow out through the tube 78. The contmued low pressure Within the chamber 26 retains the valve rod 30 seated in the opening 28 until the float 40 strikes the lower washer 44. This procedure is repeated as long as the engine is kept running. The oil entering the casing is heated by the coil 80. The diluents are thus drawn off by the current of air through the opening 28, the process of distillation being made more rapid by the bubbles of air rising from the opening 74. The valve 32, 34 in the valve casting opens when the valve 28, 30 closes so that a uniform current of air is maintained through the tube 14. rl`his avoids an intermittent change in the richness of the mixture entering the intake manifold. During the operation of the device as illustrated, the tube 84 remains open, but as this has quite a small opening there will be a sufliciently low pressure within the casing to insure the rise of oil and the passage of air in through the opening 7 4.

I claim:

1. In combination with an internal combustion engine including an air intake and a crankcase, a container adjacent the engine, an aperture in said container leading to the air intake, a connection between the container and crankcase, means operated by the rise of oil to a fixed level for closing said aperture, means operated by fall of the oil past a second level lower than the fixed level for opening said aperture, and an opening in the container smaller than said aperture and independent thereof and normally open for admitting air to the container.

2. The combination of an internal combustion engine provided with an air intake, a fluid receptacle, a source of fluid supply, a connection between said receptacle and source, a connection between the air intake and the receptacle for applying engine suce tion to the latter to draw fluids therein, and iioat controlled means in said receptacle for controlling the connection between said air intake and receptacle, pressure controlled means for admitting air to said connection to limit the vacuum therein, said receptacle being provided with a permanently open atmospheric vent.

3. In an internal combustion engine including an air intake and an engine, a container connected with the air intake, an inlet and an outlet connection between the container and crankcase, means operated by suction from the intake for producing a flow of oil from the crankcase to the container and back into the erankcase, said inlet and outlet connections being of unequal restriction so that when suction is applied to the container oil enters through the inlet and air enters through the outlet.

4. In an internal combustion engine including an air intake and an engine, a container connected with the air intake, an inlet and an outlet connection between the containery and crankcase, means operated by suction from the intake for producing a flow of oil from the crankcase to the container and back into the crankcase, check valves in said inlet and outlet connections, said outlet valve being provided with a restricted opening for the admission of air to the chamber.

5. An oil purifying system comprising' a source of lubricant, an oil purifying chambed, Va conduit for admitting oil from the source to the chamber and a conduit for re turning the purified oil to the source, and a flow controlled metering device in said first named conduit. v f

6. An oil purifying system comprising a source of lubricant, an oil purifying chamber, a conduit for admitting oil from the source to the chamber and a conduit for returning the purified oil to the source, and a flow controlled metering device in said first named conduit, said flow controlled metering device comprising a valve member llaving grooved seating surface.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

HERBERT G. KAMRATH. 

